“My objective has been to have meaningful work and meaningful relationships with the people I work with, and I’ve learned that I couldn’t have that unless I had that radical transparency and that algorithmic decision-making,” he said. “I want to show you why that is. I want to show you how it works.”

Dalio founded Bridgewater in 1975 out of his apartment, and today the Westport, Connecticut-based firm has $US103 billion in hedge fund assets and $US150 billion in total assets under management. Dalio attributes his firm’s success to the investing principles he began developing in the ’80s and the management principles he began developing in the ’90s.

“Dots” is a proprietary iPad app that is a crucial element of radical transparency at Bridgewater, and Dalio gave a demo to the TED audience.

“I warn you that some of the things that I’m going to show you probably are a little bit shocking,” he said.

Dalio pulled up footage of a research team meeting held a week after Donald Trump's presidential victory, where they forecasted economic results of his upcoming presidency.

Jen selected the trait 'Assertive and Open-Minded' around the beginning of the meeting and selected 3 out of 10 (10 being the highest, with 7 considered average). She believed that Dalio was not sharing his reasoning clearly, and wasn't open about it.

Bridgewater Associates via TED

She rated other colleagues at the meeting on this same trait as they participated.

Bridgewater Associates via TED

Larry, an employee who had been with the firm longer, thought Dalio was actually doing an excellent job at leading the discussion.

Bridgewater Associates via TED

Everyone in the meeting could see how the other was rating them and their colleagues on the most important traits pertaining to that meeting, in real time.

Bridgewater Associates via TED

Dalio was keeping track of how those present felt he was doing explaining himself and cultivating the discussion.

Bridgewater Associates via TED

The Dots app gets its name from how the ratings look in aggregate. Together, the form averages are compiled into an employee's 'baseball card.'

Aside from real-time critique, Dots is used in Bridgewater's 'believability-weighted decision making' process, where questions are posed at meetings. He gave an example where there was a clear popular vote winner.

Bridgewater Associates via TED

When each voter's baseball card, their averaged collection of Dots, was considered, the answer was the opposite -- because some people's votes counted more.

Bridgewater Associates via TED

Dalio said that an 'idea meritocracy' is not a true democracy. In the example Dalio used, the four people who chose 'no' had much higher Dots ratings on relevant traits like 'Synthesizing through time' and 'Higher level thinking' than did the popular majority that chose 'yes,' and so 'no' was determined to be the better answer.

'So when you leave this room, I'd like you to observe yourself in conversations with others,' Dalio told the TED audience.

TED

He continued: 'Imagine if you knew what they were really thinking, and imagine if you knew what they were really like ... and imagine if they knew what you were really thinking and what were really like.

'It would certainly clear things up a lot and make your operations together more effective. I think it will improve your relationships,' he said, adding that he thinks it is inevitable elements of Bridgewater's radical transparency will emerge in other organisations -- and that, he thinks, is a great thing.